Cukojevac
Kraljevo commuter village—Čukojevac's 1,204 residents farm the Ibar valley while industrial jobs in the nearby city provide alternatives to migration.
Čukojevac exists because the Ibar valley needed settlements to work the agricultural land around Kraljevo—and because some villages grow while others shrink. This settlement of 1,204 in Kraljevo municipality sits in the Raška District of western-central Serbia, where the West Morava and Ibar rivers create fertile bottomlands amid surrounding mountains.
Kraljevo municipality's identity centers on its industrial base—railcar manufacturing at Fabrika Vagona, defense production at Zastava—and its position as a regional center between Belgrade and the Kosovo border. Villages like Čukojevac supply agricultural products and labor to the city's industries, participating in an urban-rural economy that gives residents options their counterparts in more remote regions lack.
The population of 1,204 is substantial for a Serbian village—large enough to maintain a primary school, church, and local services that smaller settlements have lost. Proximity to Kraljevo (about 10 kilometers) enables commuting, which helps retain residents who might otherwise migrate. By 2026, Čukojevac's future depends on Kraljevo's industrial fortunes: whether the city can attract investment that creates jobs close enough to sustain village populations, or whether the familiar pattern of rural decline accelerates.